Among a number of other preliminary findings, signals in the area were in good working order, Forum Communications reported. Investigators are also looking at the speed of the trains and trying to retrieve travel data from the trains, Forum reported.

BNSF is setting up a claims center Thursday, where residents and businesses can file for losses as a result of the incident, WDAY reported.

WDAY also had reported that just weeks ago, a team from BNSF was in town and officials talked about the chances of a crude oil train accident. WDAY reported that Amy McBeth, speaking for BNSF in November, said, “Any incident with hazardous materials is very, very rare. In fact, 99.99 percent of hazardous materials make it to their destination without any incident.”

The fire has again sparked debate about whether it’s safer to ship oil by rail or pipeline as the U.S. completes a review of the Keystone XL project, Bloomberg reported.

The explosion occurred about a half-mile west of town, and residents say it could have been far, far worse.

“We could have had this go so many different ways,” Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said, Forum Communications reported. “If that thing happened a half mile into town, we’d be looking at a very, very different discussion here today.”